The ideal of the life of faith is to make your life a prayer to God. With every breath you take, every act you do, every thought that comes, I believe the person of faith should try to live toward God. That is how I understand prayer and take it from me, this is not easy and I cannot pretend I do this well.
In truth, praying unceasingly is impossible but it is an image that helps me try to lean into a life lived in prayer. It also helps me not mistake prayer for something else—something like a string of seemingly profound words said in public or private. Words not connected to living a life of prayer are just words.
I believe that God is constantly present to us in spirit, but that human beings are quite closed to that presence because we are preoccupied with ourselves. Prayer to me is a way to try to be more permeable to the presence of God, to let go of selfish self-preoccupation and be more in relationship to the more that is possible. When I see God in the neighbor and in the stranger, I am living into that possibility.
Words are totally inadequate here…trying is better. If you seek a more profound relationship with God, then seek to let your life be lived into an awareness of God’s presence in all you do. Just start with this: Be still from time to time during the day—even a moment will do, and just be present to yourself, to those around you, to the creation, to the spirit of God. That practice helps me to a life more lived in prayer.
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